1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an edible chew pill jacket; and more particularly, to an edible pill jacket that is composed of flavorsome ingredients and is adapted to receive a pill to be orally ingested by an animal or person to provide an appetizing mask of the pill's taste.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Administering oral chew pill containing medications, vitamins, supplements or other active ingredients to people and pets is frequently difficult due to the undesirable taste and aftertaste of the pill. Where animals are concerned, the pill frequently is broken-up and mixed with food in order to disguise the taste of the pill. Particles of the pill are lost during the smashing or cutting process, which itself can be cumbersome, causing loss of medicament in the process. If the broken-up pill is not adequately mixed with the food, the animal will frequently simply eat around the area, causing only a very minute amount of the dosage to actually be ingested by the animal. Other methods of delivery involve delivering the pill to the animal directly into the mouth and throat. Such delivery can be difficult and requires patience and steadiness to prevent injury to either the deliverer or the animal. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 6,960,183 to Nicolette discloses a veterinary pill/capsule delivery device comprised of a dispensing head for holding a pill or capsule, the dispensing head being attached to the end of a syringe component for ejecting the pill into the animal's mouth while at the same time injecting a quantity of water into the mouth.
Delivery of chew pills to humans can also be difficult, especially where children are concerned. Certain adults and children would prefer to chew pills rather than just swallow them due to feelings of fullness in the throat or swallowing problems, however, bitter or unpleasant tastes resultant from chewing the pill are also undesirable. Currently, such individuals must either swallow the pill and suffer uncomfortable consequences, or cut-up or smash the pill and mix it with food or drink. Crushing or smashing a pill can be quite difficult, especially for the elderly, and transfer into the food or drink again results in loss of particles, interfering with dosage and delivery amounts.
In the pet arena various edible toys have been provided, however the edible toys are not constructed to house a chew pill. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,283 to Leo discloses a chew toy composed of a starch material and a polymeric material that is edible and degradable; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 20030087008 to Axelrod discloses a molded animal chew toy with a realistic appearance, and preferably made from ingredients that can be ingested by the animal. Other edible pet chew products have been provided that when chewed by a pet, function to break apart and rub against the animal's teeth to clean the teeth or provide dental care. For example: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,296,209 and 5,407,661 to Simone et al. discloses an edible pet chew product having oral care properties. Again, these pet chew products do not include a compartment for housing and encapsulating a chew pill to be administered to the animal.
A few edible containers for administering medication to pets have been provided. For example: U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,470 to Baumgardner, Sr. discloses an edible container constructed having a length of a swaged tubular member the size of which the animal may consume and where the swaged tubular member is constructed from a tasty edible material which conceals the medication within; U.S. Pat. No. 6,143,316 to Hayden, et al. discloses a digestible pouch and method for aiding in the oral administration of medicinal agents; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,357 to Woods, et al. discloses an edible cup/container that can hold and contain medium and low viscosity liquids for extended periods of time. These edible containers fail to provide a cover that can simply be slipped over a pill in a substantially encapsulating manner so that a pill is nestled snuggly inside the container. Rather, each of these containers provides a bag or pouch, or tubular member, which holds a plurality of pills, power or liquid, in which the pill or medication is not snuggly fit in the container. As a result, an animal would readily eat around the portion of the container that does not come into contact with the pill. If the container is compromised and an opening is formed due to chewing, the pill or medicine would then undesirably leak out and the dosage would be lost.
Notwithstanding the efforts of prior art workers to provide various devices for delivery of pills to animals and humans, there is a need in the art for an edible chew pill jacket that can readily be slipped over a pill to substantially encapsulate it to provide a flavorful treat that masks the pill's taste. Further, there is a need in the art to provide a chew pill jacket that optionally contains a nutritional supplement therein so that ingestion of the pill jacket also provides the animal with positive health benefits.